[debhelper-devel] Bug#415396: "dh_install --list-missing" should ignore manpages and other installed files

[Niels Thykier]

Michael Stapelberg:
> [+cc Niels, who might have an idea as to how to fix this]
> 
> Hi Drew,
> 
> I’m facing the same issue in one of my packages.
> 
> Drew Parsons <dparsons at debian.org> writes:
>> At the moment dh_install --list-missing complains about any file in
>> debian/tmp not listed in the install file.  This includes manpages,
>> even if they are listed in their own manpages file to be installed by
>> dh_installman.
> 
> For completeness: this issue also includes documentation pages installed
> by dh_installdocs, and, I assume, any other dh_install* command.
> 
> The fact that this bug is now almost 10 years old implies that the issue
> is not very easy to fix (or people don’t care).
> 
> Could we make the dh_install* helpers log the files which they install
> and then move dh_install to the end of the dh sequence so that it can
> read in all of the files which the other helpers installed?
> 

Hi,

I am sympathetic to the end goal.

The log file approach could work, but in that case we could even defer
it to a separate helper (as it is dh_install is larger than I would like
it).
  I am happy to assist with creating a patch for this.

A few recommendations:
 * If the install log is created under debian/.debhelper it is cleaned
   up automatically.  I strongly prefer this for new internal files.
   (Feel free to use "generated_file()" for this purpose)
 * Please create a sub in Dh_Lib for registering installed files, so it
   becomes standardised.
   (Documentation goes in doc/PROGRAMMING)

Thanks,
~Niels